For the regular shoppers to The Palms’ Shopping mall, Lekki,
October the 13th seemed like a normal day to go see a movie or simply get some groceries
until they stepped into the mall and were welcomed by the voices of their
favourite Nigerian Artistes, right along the hall way of the mall.
It was none other than the “SING 4 THE
BLIND” fundraising event, organised by Nigerian Recording artiste, NIKKI
LAOYE on the platform of her NGO, Angel 4 Life Foundation, bringing together
artistes such as SAMMIE OKPOSO, DIPP, ESSENCE, PITA, LAMBOGINNY, ANNY;
Celebrities such as FUNKE KUTI, YAW, NEDU,KIKI OMEILI and even a brief stop by
TIWA SAVAGE; all coming together to sing and get donations for the upcoming
International White Cane Day for the Blind.
A very unique fundraising tactic in these parts it was, as the artistes sang
their hearts out, with boxes open for donations and it did turn out to be a
great success after all, with a good sum of donations received towards the
purchase of White Guide Canes for the blind.
This event was organised in support of the visually impaired,
as Nikki Laoye teams up with the Nigeria Association of the Blind (Lagos State
Chapter) and Nigerwives Braille Book Production Centre to organise the Lagos
Edition of the global awareness day for blind and visually impaired people
tagged "THE INTERNATIONAL WHITE CANE DAY", coming up today, the 15th
of October, 2012.{See advert below)
With the theme - “OUR MARK OF INDEPENDENCE”, this day of recognition is held around the world to highlight the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the WHITE CANE and to also promote the safety needs of the visually impaired in our community (people who are blind or have low vision).
With the endorsement of top Nigerian Celebrities and
Artistes such as SAMMIE OKPOSO, DAVIDO, FUNKE KUTI, WIZKID, WEIRD MC, FUNKE
AKINDELE-OLOYEDE (JENIFA), ESSENCE, ASHIONYE, SABINA (NAIJA FM), KEVIN PAM,
SOPHIE (LOVEWORLD PLUS), YAW (WAZOBIA FM), FREEZE (COOL FM) PITA, XBLAZE, BASE ONE, KEFEE, KIKI OMEILI, JOE
PRAIZE, FRANK EDWARDS, MC ABBEY, SAMSONG, KODY(WAZOBIA FM), BOUQUI,
NEDU(WAZOBIA FM), OBI SHINE, CASEY and many more, the awareness campaign for
the blind and visually impaired in Lagos State has been on a gentle rise.
2+IWCD+ad+for+cinema.png)
Funds are currently being solicited for, in order to
purchase as many White Canes as possible, which would be distributed freely to
visually impaired people and also to support the needs and IT development
projects being carried out by the Nigeria Association of the Blind (Lagos
Chapter) for easy integration of their members back into the society.
And to mark this special awareness day, Today, October 15th,
there would be a WHITE CANE WALK by the visually impaired citizens of
Lagos State, alongside government officials, well-meaning Nigerians,
celebrities etc; to further equip the general public with information on the
independence and access needs of visually impaired people. The Walk kicks off
from The Palms Shopping Centre, Lekki @ 10am and ends at King’s College Annexe,
Victoria Island.
Nikki Laoye, who has a blind adopted brother, Adeola, stands
passionately behind this project and calls for everyone to be a part of it by
simply....”BUYING A CANE" and joining the walk.
"I took Adeola under my wings 3
years ago when we met at a church event. His total independence and ever
grinning face gripped my heart and has held on ever since.
Adeola is a very independent young man - cooks, goes shopping and to church, all
by himself.
He lives on the mainland and goes to work everyday in VI,Lagos while
undertaking a college degree at University of Ibadan. His ability to move
around on the streets with little or no help, once he's holding on to his cane,
is simply amazing. His cane stands as his MARK OF INDEPENDENCE; with it, he can
go anywhere he wants to. There are many people like him out there who just need
this same level of independence so they can live life just as well as we do,
despite their visual impairment. Definitely, this can only happen with some
more help from us all. HELP BUY A CANE
TODAY AND JOIN THE WHITE CANE WALK".
A White Cane is sold at 3,500 naira only and you can support
this project by donating towards the purchase of the canes as well as other
areas required by the Nigeria Association of the Blind(Lagos Chapter).
You can send your donations to:
Acct Name: L&A LEGAL CONSULTANTS A/C A4L FOUNDATION
Acct Num: 0015034439
Ecobank Nigeria
Branch: Ahmadu Bello Way, VI
(sort Code: 050150311)
This event is proudly supported by Wahala Media
Entertainment; Sammie Okposo Hope Initiative (S.O.H.I); Mission Control
Nigeria; Audio Visual First; Chicken Republic, Oaken events, Cocacola, Damell
Photography, Kingdom Africa, Loveworld Plus, NaijaFM, WazobiaFM, Nigerian Info
and many more sponsors.
FOR DONATION DETAILS & ENQUIRIES ON IWCD 2012 , visit
CONTACT:
0802 341 5509, 0706 190 5300, 0803 637 9659
Email: a4lfoundation@gmail.com
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